GORDON STRACHAN has challenged the players charged with taking Scotland to our first finals for 18 years to create some new magic moments.

The draw for the 2016 European Championships takes place in Nice tomorrow.

That is when Darren Fletcher, Scott Brown, Allan McGregor and Co will discover who stands between them and the finals two summers from now.

No one needs reminding Scotland have not graced such a showpiece for a generation.

But, perhaps the venue is an omen, given that the last time there was a tartan tinge to such a show it was in the 1998 World Cup which, of course, was held in France, the venue for the revamped Euro 2016.

What no one realised as we kicked off the competition against Brazil in Paris was that it was to mark the end of a golden period of qualification for the Scots, a World Cup run which had begun with West Germany 1974 and which had seen USA 1994 as the only finals not to feature our Dark Blue shirts.

Scotland also made their only two appearances in the European Championship finals during this time, at Sweden in 1992 and England four years later.

This current crop can only imagine what it must be like to be regular participants at such football jamborees.

But, with the upturn in fortune currently being masterminded by Strachan, and the fact the 2016 finals will see a record 24 countries competing, even as a Pot 4 country, the belief is Scotland's moment could finally be about to return.

However, Strachan - a 50-cap veteran of two World Cup finals, Spain '82 and Mexico '86, but an injury victim when destined to captain Scotland to Sweden 1992 - wants the players not only to be able to say they played in a finals, but that they made everyone sit up and take notice of them.

He did precisely that when he scored against Germany in Mexico, then, in typical self-mocking style, failed to leap the advertising board in the celebratory fashion followed by so many other less- vertically-challenged players at those finals.

Strachan's players may not be imbued with the same talent for humour, or simply talent, but the gauntlet has been thrown down to them to create their own YouTube moment.

In the strongly-held opinion of the 57-year-old boss, qualification should not be considered the culmination of an ambition, merely the opportunity to do something truly memorable.

He said of participating at a finals: "Whether as a player or as a country, I think it is only worthwhile if you leave a mark on it.

"I am sure we can talk about lots of teams who have played in World Cup finals and European Championships, but you can't remember them there.

"That's a waste of time. It's only worthwhile if the individual or the country leaves a lasting mark. There is no point going along there and nothing happens."

That leg-up moment in the Estadio Corregidora in Mexico - after he had flashed the ball past stunned keeper, Harald Schumacher, to give Scotland the lead over West Germany - was certainly an action referenced around the world.

When asked if that was an example of what he was saying, Strachan replied with a grin: "Exactly.

"If you are not going to stay too long, do something stupid. People have forgotten the goal, and it was a good move. Roy Aitken passed it to me inside the box, which was quite a surprise, to be be found by one of his passes."

Joking aside, the real ambition -after qualifying for a finals - is to hang around beyond the first round, something Scotland have never succeeded in doing, despite some extreme hard luck stories.

However, that - hopefully - is for a couple of years down the line.

The first objective is to ensure Scotland finish as one of the top two countries in the group in which they will be drawn tomorrow, or, at worst, take third spot and a play-off place.

The feel-good factor generated by the manner in which Scotland ended their World Cup 2014 qualification campaign, then drew with the United States and won away in Norway in November friendlies, has given rise to optimism sadly lacking for too long.

In tandem with this is raised expectation that, with 53 countries battling for the 23 places available to join hosts France in the finals, the odds are in our favour to an extent they have not been for several years.

Strachan is keen to keep everyone's feet firmly planted on the ground, not least because we do not even know yet who will be in our group.

Having taken over from Craig Levein effectively after the ship for Rio had sailed, this is his chance to put into action all the plans he has been laying for last 13 months.

He will hope that not only is the draw kind to us, but the fixture list which Uefa's computer will deliver is also without any major handicaps.

Strachan knows that, having helped restore some of the pride lost in failed campaigns, a nation now expects.

If he is feeling the pressure, his chirpy demeanour masks it well.

"At this moment, it is excitement we should all be feeling," he said as he headed to Nice. "I am sure we will all feel the pressure a couple of days before the first game.

"That's when you have to start picking teams, telling people they are not playing and hoping everything is going to be okay. But, for now, I'm just excited."